The program wasn’t all pictures and history, however. In fact, Flynn actually burst into song, bringing back a few of the best-loved tunes from the war years.

“I sang a few songs and it went over really well,” Flynn said. “People really joined in and related to it, because I think they heard them when they were kids and or their parents knew them.”

Flynn will return to the Schoolhouse Museum on Oct. 20 for a “Songfest,” featuring more of the songs from the World War II era. The audience is invited to sing along, while images and lyrics grace the screen.

Flynn, whose voice is described as being reminiscent of Mel Torme, has selected 20 songs, along with five alternates, from the World War II era. The playlist includes show tunes, comedy numbers, and Irving Berlin songs, such as “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” “Comin' In On a Wing and a Prayer,” “It's Been a Long, Long Time,” “This Is The Army, Mr. Jones,” and “The White Cliffs of Dover,” among others.

The music, Flynn says, was an important part of people’s lives in those days, whether it was here on Cape Cod (where U-boats were sinking ships only 300 miles offshore), in Flynn’s hometown of Northboro, or anywhere else in the U.S.

“I was 10 years old when the war broke out,” Flynn recalled. “In our house, we had music all the time. My mother had a piano and sheet music, and we all sang around the piano. No TV, music was a big part of our lives, even the lyrics, I remember most of them.”

Flynn also has other memories of what were some of the darkest years of the American 20th century.

“I was aware of the rationing that was going on at that time, and I actually delivered letters that were follow-ups to telegrams about people who were wounded and killed,” recalled Flynn, who went through the archives of the Navy action reports. “I felt the anxiety of the war from my standpoint.”

“Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” Flynn says, “was written to build up the morale of the people.” During the program, an image of a B-17 bomber accompanies “Comin’ In On a Wing and a Prayer.” Look for Uncle Sam pointing in your direction during Berlin’s “You’re In the Army Now, Mr. Jones.”

Flynn indicated that he might also reach back to the first World War. There’s a personal connection to that as well.

“My father was in World War I,” Flynn said. “He did the trench warfare and it was horrible. They had all kinds of casualties. He was gassed in the war. There was a song ‘Good Morning, Mr. Zip-Zip-Zip,’ when they went from one trench to the other, and my father was singing it a lot. I never knew why, but I did some research, but that was what they sang when they went to the next trench, trying to bring up the morale.”

Flynn, who drew a capacity crowd to the Schoolhouse last year, says that the ability to carry a tune isn’t essential for admission and participation at the Songfest.

“I want people to join in,” Flynn said. “I want to select people who are really into it.”

Don Wilding is a writer, film producer, and public speaker on Cape Cod lore. He can be reached via email at donwilding@gmail.com. Shore Lore appears every other week.